Changes to parking permit rules and charges announced

CHANGES to some rules and charges relating to residents’ parking zones in Leicester have been announced by the city council.

The rules and charges around parking permits have remained largely unchanged since residents’ parking schemes were first introduced in the city in the 1990s.

There will be no change to the cost of a standard resident’s parking permit which will remain at the current price of £25 per year. Blue Badge holders will continue to be able to park free of charge in residents' parking bays.

However, following a detailed review of the scheme, the council will introduce some changes to the rules and charges.

Under the revised scheme, a new limit of four resident’s permits per household will be introduced in all current resident only parking zones with the exception of Bede Island. Here, the current maximum of one permit per household will continue due to the limited number of parking spaces available in the area.

Changes will also be made to the rules and charges for visitor permits to make the system simpler for residents and help reduce admin costs.

A new 12-month visitor permit will be introduced at a cost of £30. These will be limited to one per household. Residents of state pension age, and anyone requiring the regular attendance of a carer, will be entitled to a 12-month visitor permit free of charge.

Temporary visitor scratch cards – which are valid for up to 48 hours – will continue to be offered, although these will increase in price from £1 to £2 per card. Anyone buying or renewing a standard annual resident’s permit will be given five temporary visitor permits free of charge.

A charge of £10 will be introduced for smartcards, which allow residents to request free two-hour permits from on-street pay-and-display machines. Currently, these are only in operation in the Highfields and Westcotes residents’ parking zones.

The standard business permit will remain at £100 per year for each vehicle specified with a registration. Alongside this, a new more expensive permit will be available at a cost of £150 per year, which does not need to be allocated to any one vehicle. Businesses will be entitled to up to four permits per property.

The new business permits will replace the current permits for garages and religious and charitable organisations.

Free two-hour and day permits for contractors will no longer be available. Under the revised scheme, contractors will need to either buy pay and display tickets from on-street machines, or purchase a £20 day permit online.

Cllr Kirk Master, assistant city mayor for neighbourhood services, said: “This is the first review of our parking permit charges in over 15 years. With more residents’ parking schemes being introduced over the last seven years, it is becoming increasingly clear that the rules need to be simplified.

“We also need to ensure that the charges relating to residents’ parking zones are sufficient to ensure that the schemes effectively fund themselves.

“The changes we’re making will minimise any extra costs to residents, and the price of a standard annual permit will not increase. We’ve also introduced new annual visitors’ permits, which will save money for some people and help us cut our administration costs significantly.”

Currently, there are seven residents’ parking schemes in operation across the city. The schemes generate around £164,000 of income from the sale of permits but cost the city council about £440,000 to administer and enforce. This shortfall is currently made up with revenue from paid parking fines.

It is anticipated that reducing administration costs and increasing the amount raised from business and contractor permits will help the residents’ parking schemes become self-financing.

The new rules and charges will be introduced over the next six months.